Enbridge and Atmos Energy to Solicit Interest From Shippers in Proposed Texas Gas Pipeline


HOUSTON, Aug. 22, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., (NYSE:EEP) and Atmos Pipeline and Storage, LLC, which is an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO), said today they will conduct a Solicitation of Interest for firm transportation service on a proposed new natural gas pipeline in Texas called Barnett Intrastate Gas ("BIG") Pipeline.

BIG Pipeline would connect Atmos Energy's Line X in Johnson County, Texas, to Enbridge's Double D and Clarity pipelines at Bethel in Anderson County, Texas. This new pipeline would bridge the two companies' systems and would provide shippers more access to natural gas supplies from the Waha, Barnett Shale, Bossier Sands and Anadarko Basin producing regions. Delivery points would include multiple market options at the Enbridge Carthage Hub in Panola County, Texas, and the Enbridge Southeast Texas Hub in Orange County with interconnections on the following pipeline systems:


        Carthage Hub       Southeast Texas Hub
        ------------       -------------------
        *  NGPL            *  NGPL
        *  Texas Gas       *  Kinder Morgan - Tejas
        *  Gulf South      *  Gulf South
        *  Tennessee Gas   *  Kinder Morgan - Texas
        *  Centerpoint     *  Trunkline
        *  TETCO           *  Florida Gas
                           *  Entergy

"As more and more drilling occurs in the prolific Barnett Shale of North Texas, this 100-mile natural gas transmission pipeline, with a capacity of up to 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day, will help Enbridge and Atmos Energy avoid constraints on their respective systems and it will increase reliable supplies of natural gas," said Terrance L. McGill, president of Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., the general partner of Enbridge Energy Partners. "In addition, transportation for shippers would be seamless all the way across the system," he said.

The Solicitation of Interest will begin at noon CDT August 25, 2008, and close at 5 p.m. on September 17, 2008. Shippers interested in participating should contact Mark DeRusse at (713) 821-6195, mark.derusse@enbridge.com or Steve Marsh (713) 821-2084, steve.marsh@enbridge.com of Enbridge Energy Partners or Vic DeVincenzo of Atmos Energy at (214) 206-2510 vic.devincenzo@atmosenergy.com.

Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., (www.enbridgepartners.com) owns and operates a diversified portfolio of crude oil and natural gas transportation systems in the United States. Its principal crude oil system is the largest transporter of growing oil production from western Canada. The system's deliveries to refining centers and connected carriers in the United States account for approximately 11 percent of total U.S. oil imports while deliveries to Ontario, Canada, satisfy approximately 60 percent of refinery demand in that region. The Partnership's natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transmission assets, which are principally located onshore in the active U.S. Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast area, deliver approximately 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.

Enbridge Energy Management, L.L.C., (NYSE:EEQ) (www.enbridgemanagement.com) manages the business and affairs of the Partnership and its sole asset is an approximate 14 percent interest in the Partnership. Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, (NYSE:ENB) (TSX:ENB) (www.enbridge.com), is the general partner and holds an approximate 15 percent interest in the Partnership.

Atmos Energy Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, is the country's largest natural-gas-only distributor, serving about 3.2 million natural gas distribution customers in more than 1,600 communities in 12 states from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West. Atmos Energy also provides natural gas marketing and procurement services to industrial, commercial and municipal customers primarily in the Midwest and Southeast and manages company-owned natural gas pipeline and storage assets, including one of the largest intrastate natural gas pipeline systems in Texas. Atmos Energy is a Fortune 500 company. For more information, visit www.atmosenergy.com


            

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